Don't Give Up
by twilight-x-eclipse
Summary: Jump In! When Mary moves, Izzy has to move on. No one ever suspected it would be with the dancer that had just moved into Mary's old house. But things take a turn for the worse, when a visitor comes back that's unexpected. Completed!
1. The Meeting

So I'm going to rant for about a minute. I haven't written in a while, I'm writing a Twilight fic right now. I'm here and writing a Jump In! fic, and I think this is the second one up, so I'm proud of myself. Anyway, have fun, and review me!!

This story starts in August of 2006 We're going to say that Izzy is going to be 17.

Izzy Daniels stood at his window, watching the new girl put her things in Mary's old room. Ever since Mary had moved three months ago in late May, he had been really lonely and longed for a person his age to talk to. He didn't expect the person to be a girl, be living in Mary's old room, or be a dancer. He didn't know what he was expecting. He guessed he wanted another Mary.

The girl caught him staring.

"Hey!" she called, smiling. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

She looked at her surroundings, then said. "Come on up and introduce yourself."

Izzy thought about it, then took her offer, and climbed up the ladder.

She sat on the stairs and smiled at him, waiting expectantly.

Izzy sighed and said, "I'm Isadore Daniels, but you can call me Izzy."

He stuck his hand out for her to shake. She took it as he admired the milky color of her skin against his and as she replied, "Annabeth Montgomery, but you can call me Anna. Nice to meet you, Izzy."

"Same to you, Anna," he told her. 

Her emerald eyes danced as she smiled that million-watt smile that he didn't clearly see before again. "So, what do you do for fun around here?"

"I double-dutch. Or I used to before the girl that used to live here moved. I box, too." He told her easily.

"Double-dutch?" she questioned. "I used to double-dutch when I was younger, but I stopped when I became more addicted to dancing."

"How long have you been dancing?" he asked her.

"Since I was three," she said. "I'm almost seventeen now."

"That's a long time," Izzy said, surprised that someone could stick with something for close to fourteen years.

"Yeah, it is," Anna agreed.

She looked as if she were about to say something else when her mom called, "Annabeth Marie Chase Montgomery! Get in your room and finish unpacking!"

Anna turned pink as she turned towards her door. "Gimme a second, Mom, I'm introducing myself to the neighbors!"

"You can introduce yourself at the housewarming party tomorrow. Get your butt in here, Annabeth!" her mother sounded bored, like she had to tell her daughter this repeatedly all the time.

"All right! I'm coming!" she yelled to her mother. "Hey, come to the housewarming party tomorrow, kay? I'm gonna need someone to talk to. Bring your family and friends too."

"That'll be five of us, I think, is that okay?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, it's totally cool," she replied as she got off the steps and walked back toward her room. "See you tomorrow, Izzy."

"Yeah..." he said, distracted. "Bye, Anna," he smiled.

She smiled at him one last time, and went inside.

End of Chapter 1 


	2. The Party

Chapter 2

Izzy, Karin, and Kenneth walked up to the Montgomery house, and knocked. Anna opened the door and smiled politely.

"Hey, Izzy," she greeted. "Is this your family?"

"Yeah," Izzy said. "This is my dad, Kenneth, and my little sister, Karin. Dad, Karin, this is Annabeth Montgomery."

"Please, call me Anna. Nice to meet you Mr. Daniels and Karin."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Anna," Kenneth said to Anna. 

Just then Anna's mom walked out to the foyer.

"Mom, this is Kenneth, Izzy, and Karin Daniels. This is my mother, Julia Montgomery."

"Hello, it's nice to know that Annabeth has been making new friends." Julia smiled the same million watt smile that Anna had. Anna cringed at her full name.

"Do you guys wanna see the upstairs?" Anna asked Izzy and Karin as Kenneth went to converse with the other adults there.

"No, thanks," Karin said as she had just saw some of her friends.

"Sure," Izzy said. He didn't see anyone else his own age, and if Anna were to be his neighbor, he wanted to get to know her better.

They walked up to Anna's room, which was weird considering Izzy had been in the room a thousand times. But he couldn't recognize it. Instead of being a bright sunshine yellow color, the walls were a dark purple color with splashes of orange, black, pink, yellow, and blue. Her name was painted in white on a section of the walls that had obviously been painted the same color green as her eyes to differentiate the room and make it seem more her personality.

Ballet awards were spread on one section of the walls, with pictures of Anna in the different costumes, her smile the same one Izzy knew, and her flaming red hair up. Her bright eyes smiled along with her mouth, even when she was only three.

At the top of the ballet wall was her latest ballet picture and award. It was clear that she had been the prima ballerina for a while.

"Third year being the prima," she said as if she were reading his thoughts.

On another wall were different pictures and collages. Of celebrities, people, friends, family. He recognized her mother with her arm around a man that he didn't know. Anna had the man's face shape and facial features, only softer, as well as the emerald green eyes that Izzy had to admit, were mesmerizing.

"Your dad?" he asked her.

"Yeah, but he passed away a few months ago. That's why we moved."

"Too many memories." Izzy said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," Anna agreed. "Too many memories."

Izzy never remembered clicking with someone so quickly. Even though Mary had been able to relate to the pain of losing a parent, it wasn't the same way. Her parents had just gotten divorced. Her dad didn't get cancer and die on her bed as she tried to call 911 like his mother had. But they never brought that up.

"Cancer. It's the worst six-letter word in the dictionary." Anna was saying, too quietly to mean him.

"Yeah, I know." he said, unthinking.

"Do you?" she asked. "Do you know what it's like to have your father in your arms, and have him crumple against you as your mother calls 911?" she said.

"Kinda, only my mother collapsed onto my bed and I was the one that had to call 911," Izzy told her.

She looked up at him in disbelief. "It's amazing how much we have in common, well family wise. One parent, two kids, the parent lost to cancer, wow."

"You have a sibling?" he asked.

"My brother," she said. "He's twelve, and he's decided to go to bording school. He couldn't deal with the passing of our dad. It was too painful for him to handle."

She sighed deeply. "I can't blame him. It was either move to a new state, or go to a bording school in the same state where we were."

"Where did you move from?" he asked, realizing he didn't know.

"Colorado," she replied simply.

"Must be a different setting in New York," Izzy said.

"We only moved here because relatives live here. And my dad used to live here, so we decided to come back." she sounded worn down from the subject. "Anyway, when's your birthday?"

He was startled by the abrupt subject change, and without thinking, said, "February 21. I'll be 17."

She nodded. "Mine's March 7, I'l be 17, as well."

"I know, you said you'd be 17 soon earlier." Izzy said.

"Did I?" she seemed confused. "It must be from the paint fumes," Anna muttered so quietly Izzy couldn't hear her.. "I've been forgetting little things all the time lately. I bet it's cause we just painted the room."

"Oh," Izzy said.

They went on to talk about various things, and discovered that they had a lot more in common than just their families, but a lot that was different to talk about. They talked until it was after dark and Kenneth came up to get Izzy to go home.

"Okay, Dad," Izzy said as he picked himself up off the floor. "Lemme just say goodbye."

Kenneth went downstairs as Izzy looked at Anna.

"Bye, Anna, I'll see you tomorrow," he said so his dad could hear. Then he whispered to Anna, "If you ever need me just call my name from the balcony. I'll be able to hear." He smiled at her as he left the room.

Anna went out to her balcony and waited while the window opened.

"Hey, Izzy," she called.

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

She could hear the smile as he said, "Goodnight, Anna."

End of Chapter 2 


	3. The Christmas Presents

Chapter 3

Anna liked her new neighborhood and the people in it. She walked around all the time and watched as kids danced, double-dutched, and just messed around.

Most of the time, she was in her dance studio a few blocks away, practicing her heart out. She went to Juliard, the performing arts school in Queens. She got home later than everyone else in the neighborhood, and often saw Karin double-dutching with her friends, with Izzy supervising. Sometimes she joined them and sometimes she didn't.

But Anna was constantly dancing. Even watching as her neighbors double-dutched, she would dance around them, practicing. Karin thought it was awesome and cool. Izzy called her "Ballet Girl," and she called him the "Double-Dutch King."

He showed her all of his moves, and taught her how to speed jump.

Anna showed him all the things she had learned in the thirteen years that she had been training, and proved her outstanding endurance as well as stamina. They went for runs together, went to the gym together. He went to her school performances, and she went to his double-dutching competitions. They spent almost every free minute together, and soon it was rumored that they were dating.

Before Anna or Izzy knew it, four months had flown bye, and it was Christmas. Anna and Julia spent most of the day with family members, but they had Christmas dinner with Izzy's family. 

Anna and Izzy were both stressing out because of what they got for each other on Christmas Day. Anna gave Izzy his present first, and when he opened it, he gasped in surprise. It was a DVD and book, detailing new tricks to learn in double-dutching.

"Thanks, Anna," he said, enveloping her in a hug. "This is awesome."

"Glad you think so," Anna million-watted back.

Then Izzy got Anna's present from his room.

She opened the present delicately and held back tears.

"Wow, Izzy, this is-- it's amazing. Thank you," she managed to choke out. It was another collage for her wall. Pictures of her, Izzy, Karin, Shauna, Mr. Daniels, her mom, and several other people littered the photographs. Pictures from her school productions, dressed in blonde wigs, brown haired wigs, black wigs, and her flaming hair, released and free, blowing in the wind were on it. And not to mention pictures of her cousins, grandparents, and dad.

She threw herself in his waiting arms, and smiled at him. "This means a lot to me," she told him.

Karin started giggling uncontrollably.

"What?" Izzy and Anna asked at the same time.

"Mistletoe," she giggled out.

Anna turned pink, and Izzy lowered his eyes.

"Come on, Izzy, it's tradition," Kenneth told his son.

Julia smiled at Anna, "Come on, sweetie."

Anna blushed as Izzy kissed her on the cheek. 

"There, you happy?" she asked.

"No," Julia said. "On the lips, Izzy. That's what mistletoe represents. Lips."

"No, it doesn't." Anna shot back.

"Yes it does."

"Doesn't."

"Does."

"Doesn't."

"Does."

"Doesn't."

"Does."

"I'll just do it, okay?" Izzy said, trying to break up the brewing fight.

And he pressed his lips gently to Anna's own. Everyone's eyes widened in shock, and then Anna's eyes closed as she kissed back gently.

A few seconds later, they broke the kiss at the same time, and smiled at each other.

"Awwwww," Julia and Karin cooed, as Kenneth smiled at them.

"Shut up!" the two shouted as one.

A few minutes later, Izzy and Anna were excused, and they left the house, watching falling snow.

"So, what does this mean?" Anna asked.

"Like, where our relationship is? I dunno," Izzy replied.

Anna couldn't look up at him after he said 'relationship.'

Izzy was thinking about what he wanted, but he didn't want it to be weird. "Do you wanna go out on Saturday? Like to a movie or something?"

"Like a date?" Anna asked.

"Yeah," Izzy admitted.

"Sure," Anna said. "But I haven't really dated anyone before, so it's a little uncommon for me."

"Yeah, this would only be the second girl I've ever gone out with," Izzy told her.

"Yeah, well, Saturday sounds good. Do you wanna hang out on New Year's, too?" Anna asked.

"Of course. We're going to Shauna's New Year's Eve party, right?"

"I am, is it okay with your dad?" Anna said to him.

"Yeah, it's fine with my dad." Izzy assured her.

"So, I guess we better get back," Anna suggested.

"Yeah, I guess we better." Izzy said.

They were making the five minute walk back when in front of their block, Izzy suddenly grasped Anna gently by the shoulders and kissed her. Anna responded, and the two stayed out, not caring that people were muttering about that jump rope boy and dancer of different races kissing. It didn't matter. It was new love.

End of Chapter 3 


	4. The Return

Chapter 4

It was now the year 2008, and Izzy and Anna were still going strong for any couple. They had been together for over a year. They were going to be 18 that year, they were seniors in high school, and were happy together. Sometimes they got taunted, but most of the time, the neighbors respected the teenagers choice in companionship and most figured it would be over soon, saying how they remembered their first loves.

But Izzy and Anna really had something good. Something different than anyone had ever expected. And they were both loving what they had.

They still did their individual activities, they didn't stifle each other. The limiting time they had together made it even more special than it already was to them. 

Double dutch was now taking a huge part of Izzy's already busy life. The competition for city was coming up, then hopefully state. Anna had volunteered to be the Hot Chille Steppers fourth until they found someone, hopefully someone that could dedicate a lot of time to the team. Izzy was grateful for Anna's volunteering, it meant that she didn't have as much time to practice ballet, and she was doing it for him.

Then came the day of Mary's return.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," Annabeth moaned as Izzy helped her up. She had been speed jumping again, and then had tried to learn how to transfer from that to hopping on one leg. She had gotten tangled, and tripped, hurting her ankle more than she expected to.

Izzy gathered her in his arms, and kissed her lips gently. "You gonna be all right?"

"Of course, I only twisted it. I'll be fine in a little while. But maybe I should wait until tomorrow to try that again," she replied. Anna kissed him back and Izzy carried her to a nearby bench, where they sat for about five minutes before they heard a voice.

"Aww, dancer can't jump some rope?"

Izzy and Anna looked up in surprise.

"Mary?" he said incredously.

"Yeah, it's me. Izzy, I missed you so much!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the lips briefly.

Anna got up from the bench and started walking to her house.

"Anna! You can't walk on that, you could really injure your ankle!" Izzy excalimed, extremely concerned.

"I don't care. Leave me alone, Isadore Daniels."

"Anna..."Izzy began.

"Don't you 'Anna' me! You cheated on me, Izzy! I don't ever want to speak to you again!"

And she huffed back to her house, limping all the way there.

"What was she talking about, Izzy?" Mary asked.

Izzy took a deep breath. " I was dating Anna, for over a year this past Christmas. You moved close to two years ago, Mary. And after you didn't visit in seven months, I moved on. I had to. I couldn't wait for you forever.

"I'm in love with Anna," Izzy confessed. "And now she hates me."

"Wait," Mary said. "Rewind, and replay. You love her?"

"Yeah," Izzy said.

Mary looked lost and confused.

"What me and Anna had was really special. And I don't want to lose her." Izzy said with longing in his voice. "I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"Not even me?" Mary asked.

"I'm sorry, Mary." Izzy said. "It was the first time I was really with somebody, puppy love."

"And this thing with this Anna girl isn't?" Mary screeched.

"Mary, I'm going to be eighteen next month. You're only going to be seventeen in December. I'm graduating, and you're still a junior. What Anna and I have or had was special."

"Corny much?" Mary asked.

"Maybe, but that's what happens when you're in love." Izzy said.

"You're not in love," Mary argued. "It's just a silly little crush."

"Mary," Izzy told her in that patronizing way he had, "It's not just a crush. Over a year of being together is not a crush. It's at least deep respect, and at the most true love. I'm truly in love with Anna."

"You can say that, but I know it's not true." Mary protested. "When you kissed me, you difinitely felt something."

"No," Izzy said. "I didn't feel anything but curiosity. I didn't know why you were kissing me when we hadn't been anything in close to two years. I moved on, Mary. And you should have, too. Goodbye."

Izzy left Mary standing there, confused and lost. She didn't know what to say or do. Ten minutes later, the tears came, unstopping. She stood there and wondered what Izzy had found in Anna. She stood there, and wondered when her heart would ever mend.

End of Chapter 4 


	5. The Decision

Chapter 5

Later that night, with his window open, Izzy could hear the shuffling of boxes. He didn't want to think about what it could mean, so he didn't bother looking out.

Eventually, the sound of Julia's voice saying, "Are you sure about this, Annabeth?" made him peak out the window.

Anna was sitting on a box, her long, red hair straight and her face illuminated by the moon and tears.

"Yeah, Mommy, I'm sure," she said.

"Annabeth, I don't want to lose you." Julia said.

"You won't lose me, Mom, I'm just going to go back to Colorado and finish my senior year. Then I'll be interning in Russia for the summer to learn more about ballet," Anna said.

"What about Izzy?" Julia said. "Aren't you going to tell him?"

"Izzy doesn't matter, Mom," Anna told her. "I saw another girl go up and kiss him openly, like they've done it before. We're done."

"Are you sure?" Julia said, sounding shocked. "That doesn't seem like Izzy."

"Oh, I'm sure. He won't even realize I'm gone. And if he does, oh well. If he can move on from me, then I can do the same courtesy for him." Anna said this positively, like she was looking forward to it.

"The school already knows I'm coming there, Jason still goes to school there. He's fourteen, I still can't believe it. He'll be happy to see me other than summer vacation. I'll come back before Russia, Mommy, I promise."

"Is the plane ticket booked?" Julia asked.

"Yeah, and I forwarded all my transcripts this past marking period to the internship so I'm set." Anna sounded sure and tired.

"Okay, hon, well... You better get some sleep. You're plane leaves at 12:30 tomorrow.'"

"I know. Goodnight, Mommy, I love you."

"I love you, too," Julia said as she kissed her daughter goodnight.

An hour later, when the doors were still open, but Anna was asleep, Izzy climbed out his window and into Anna's room. He left a note in the ballet bag he knew had to be her carry-on for the flight, looked at Anna longingly, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room.

Julia stood on the other side of the door, watching Izzy as he did what she knew he had to do. As soon as he was gone for ten minutes, she closed the balcony doors and looked at her daughter. 

"He really loves you, Annabeth," she said quietly as she left the room once again.

At The Airport

Anna held on to her carry-on as if it could solve all her problems. It was her ballet bag, in the rare case that Izzy came, he could recognize her by the bag she held.

She checked inside once again, and found an envelope with her name on it. iAnnabeth Montgomery/i it said in a messy scraw, that she could recognize as Izzy's. Sighing, she opened the letter, figuring she should at least pay him the courtesy of opening it. And her mother was at the bathroom, so she did have privacy.

Anna,

I'm sorry about Mary. She was my girlfriend over two years ago. She used to live in your house. When she moved, I was so lonely and wanted someone to talk to. You answered my prayers, Anna. You gave me a loyal friend and a wonderful girlfriend.

I'm sorry I never told you sooner. I love you, Anna. I think I have since the first time I kissed you under the mistletoe. I wish that you didn't have to be reading this letter goodbye, but you are. 

I want you to know that I heard you talking to your Mom last night. I understand, though I wish you didn't have to go. Good luck in Russia, I hope you'll be the prima, prove to them all you can do it. Have a good time in Colorado. Tell your brother I said hey. Karin's got a crush on him from the summer, she still stares at his picture where his arm's around her.

I want you to be happy, Anna. That's all that you need in life, to be happy. And you deserve to be happy.

I love you Annabeth Marie Chase Montgomery. Never forget that. You know they say that if you love someone, if it's best for them, you have to let them go. And I guess I have to let you go then.

Only the best for you,

Izzy

P.s. Don't ever stop dreaming.

Anna cried in the middle of the letter. So he had heard her. And he loved her so much that he would let her go.

"Izzy," she croaked out to herself. "Izzy, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

End of Chapter 5 


	6. The Runaway Ballerina

Chapter 6

Anna sat with her knees to her chest, still sobbing, but not as loud as she had before. People had been staring before, and she could barely take the pain of losing Izzy. It took leaving as a sign to finally say that she loved him, and she had no idea why she couldn't say that before. She guessed it was because she was stubborn.

She was exhausted, and her plane was going to board in about a half-hour. Her mom had come back ten minutes previously with a turkey and cheese sandwich for her, in case she was hungry. Anna ate it greedily, having not had breakfast that morning. Her stomach had been in knots. And it still was.

A half-hour later, she hugged her mother goodbye and boarded her plane, wishing she had another choice. But she knew it was what she wanted and needed above all else. She had to get away from New York, and when she came back, she had to be careful around Izzy. By the time she returned he would've found a new love anyway.

There weren't too many people going to Colorado, so she figured she would sit with no one beside her on the plane. That was why she was surprised when a pleasant voice asked, "May I sit here?"

Not looking up at the vaguely familiar voice's face, she nodded, and continued to look out the window.

"You know, Anna, Izzy really does love you. He's been depresed since yesterday," the voice said.

Anna turned to face the person and saw...

"Karin, you really don't understand. And why are you on this plane?"

"I'm coming with you, so you're not lonely."

"What about Izzy? Won't he be lonely?" Anna said sarcastically.

"Not if he's on the plane, too."

But Karin's not the one who answered.

Anna looked up from the window again.

"Well, well, well, if it's not love letter boy," she said.

"Well, well, well, if it's not the runaway ballerina," Izzy said.

"What do you want?" she asked bitterly. Anna had forgiven him, but she wanted to see his reasons.

"To stop you from going."

"Why?"

"Because..." he started, then sighed. "Because I'm in love with you and if you're going, then I'm going with you."

"But everything you have is in New York," Anna said, shocked.

"But the person I love isn't in New York. She's on a plane headed to Colorado. And where she goes, I go, because I can't live without her. And I hope she knows that." Izzy finished.

"She does," Anna said, as she pulled him close and kissed him.

End of Chapter 6 


	7. The End

So this is the end of Don't Give Up. It's been a long way for me, completing my first story, like posting-wise. I hope you like the ending!

Chapter 7 Epilogue

Three years later, when Izzy and Anna were 21, Izzy proposed. Anna was visiting from Russia at the time and said yes. She never bothered to go back to Russia.

Izzy and Anna were married on November 29, 2012, and went on their honeymoon to Australia. They decided to move to Brooklyn, New York, close to home, but not too close.

After Anna and Izzy had their three daughters, Bella, Rosalie, and Lynna, and their two sons, Jacob and Evan, Anna got a job at a ballet studio, and ended up buying it from the owner.

Izzy still did double-dutching and all of their kids were interested in it, as well as the girls doing ballet. Izzy also became a successful boxer, and by the time he was 35, the family never had to worry about anything.

They were well-off and well-liked in their neighborhood. Their kids grew older and eventually all of them married, and moved around the Northeast part of the United States.

Izzy and Anna lived happily, until Anna died of leukemia in 2058. She was sixty-eight years old. 

Exactly a month later, Izzy died of a broken heart.

Izzy and Anna's story is one I like to tell to my own kids, and grandkids, who still visit regularly. They never had to wonder whether Aunt Anna and Uncle Izzy were good people, because they were involved in their lives.

Some people called our family weird. I didn't. I called our family blessed.

After all, Izzy was the best brother a girl could ask for.

THE END

A/N: I hoped you liked this one, I finished a story, EEEE!! So this story was basically Karin telling it to her grandkids and children and so forth. About my naming choices for their kids. Bella (Isabella Swan) and Rosalie (Rosalie Hale, in the Cullen family, married to Emmett) are two of my favorite Twilight characters, so I put their names in. I want to name one of my own children Lynna (it means waterfall) one day. Jacob's (Jacob Black, major character in New Moon, the sequel to Twilight) another character from Twilight, and same story with Evan as with Lynna. I hope you enjoyed!

Love,  
Melissa 


End file.
